Sound producing ball



Aug- 6, 1968 J. L. SEBREE SOUND PRODUCING BALL Filed Sept. 2, 1965 United States Patent O ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An inilatable ball, like a beach ball, has a ilexible diaphragm dividing the interior into two halves. A cage iS supported by the diaphragm concentrically with the shell of the ball, and a bell is mounted within the cage. In one form of the invention, the bell is mounted on a resilient stern secured to a tape spanning the cage. In a second form of the invention, the bell is suspended from crossed tapes for free swinging movement. In a third form of the invention, the bell is mounted on a resilient stem, one end of the stem being anchored to the wall of the cage. When the resilient stem is used, the bell can be anchored directly to the diaphrgam without the use of the cage. The bell continues to ring as the ball moves through the air and therefore is useful in teaching depth perception to blind children.

This invention relates to a sound producing ball which is especially suitable for teaching depth perception to blind children, the term referring to direction, distance, motion and speed.

It has previously been proposed to mount a bell within a ball, but such devices have not been suitable for teaching depth perception and dexterity to the lblind for two reasons. First, the bell mounting means constitutes a rigid element which is attached to the inner wall of the shell of the ball. When the ball bounces, if the point or area of contact between the ball and the lloor is on the opposite side of the shell wall from the rigid element, the bounce will not be true; the -bell will veer to one side of the other of the vertical trajectory plane. This renders the ball useless for instruction purposes because the lateral positioning of the catchers hands must always be associated with the binaural perception in an exactly consistent manner. In the case of the flat bounce, somewhat similar considerations apply with respect to the vertical positioning of the catchers hands.

Secondly, in the previous constructions the `bell rings only when the ball is in the throwers hands or at the instant of bounce when acceleration forces are being applied dircetly to the bell or its clapper. This, of course, also renders the ball useless for instruction of the blind because a continuous series of signals throughout the trajectory is necessary to identify the vertical trajectory plane. Imparting a spin to the ball does not necessarily remedy this objection because centrifugal forces are then encountered which tend to affect the gravitational forces. Furthermore, the spin will Hatten or accentuate the bounce and throw olf the vertical coordination.

It is the object of my invention to provide a ball having a bell mounted within same in such a manner that the bell will ring continuously as the ball moves through the a1r.

Another object is to provide a sound producing ball wherein the bounce is not thrown olf by the manner in which the bell is mounted within the ball.

A still further object is to provide a sound producing ball which is of light weight so that it will cause no injury or other adverse etects if it hits the child due to his failure to catch same.

According to my invention, if the bell is mounted on a iiexible diaphragm, a true bounce will be obtained even when the point of contact between the ball and the lioor CFI is opposite to the connection between the edge of the diaphragm and the wall of the ball.

Furthermore, I have found that continuous ringing of the bell can be obtained if means are provided to store the energy imparted to the bell during the acceleration periods, i.e. during throwing and bouncing, in an oscillating system. According to one embodiment of my invention, the oscillating system comprises :a bell and a resilient mount, and according to another embodiment, it comprises a bell and a pendulum type mount. In the latter embodiment, means are provided to avoid interference between the diaphragm, as would occur if the `bell were pendulously suspended directly from the diaphragm, and the bell inverted, in which case the bell would be resting on its side on the diaphragm.

Other objects, features and advantages will become apparent as the description proceeds.

With reference now to the accompanying drawings in which like reference numerals designate like parts:

FIG. 1 is a sectional elevation of a preferred embodiment of my invention, taken along line 1-1 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 2 is a section taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a vertical section of the: cage in a changed position and showing a different type of bell;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary section similar to FIG. 1, but showing a further modification; and

FIG. 5 is a section similar to FIG. 3 showing a further modification.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, the ball 9 is an inflatable ball comprising a spherical shell 10, having an inilating tube 11. The ball shown is a beach ball type in which the shell may be of llexible sheet material, such as impregnated cloth or sheet plastic, and either non-elastic or substantially nonelastic, or it may be of an elastic sheet material such as rubber. However, the ball may also be an ordinary thickwalled rubber bouncing Iball which does not require inflation, or it may be an intlatable ball of the basketball or volleyball type.

A flexible diaphragm 12 divides the interior of the ball into two halves and is suitably secured at its periphery to the inner wall of shell 10 by adhesive, or adhesive tape 13. The diaphragm is provided with a central opening in which is disposed a spherical cage 14. In the embodiment shown, the cage is in the form of a rigid or hard hollow plastic sphere having sound transmitting openings 15 in one half, the other half of the cage 114 being imperforate. Thus, the diaphragm and the imperforate half cooperate to seal oit one-half of the interior shell 10 from the other. This arrangement is preferred, since it is believed that it contributes to a better bounce, but it is also possible to provide the openings 15 in both halves of the cage 14, or to provide openings in the diaphragm.

Cage 14 is secured to the diaphragm by suitable adhesive means, such as the adhesive tapes 16 which provide a continuous sealed joint between the cage and the diaphragm.

A bell 17 `is disposed within the cage 14. In the preferred embodiment, bell 17 is a jingle bell which is mounted on a single tape, or on crossed tapes 18 and supported by a resilient stern 19. The resilient stem may be a molded rubber product, or it can be made up of a heavy rubber band twisted around itself and `around the tapes at the point of intersection.

In operation, when the ball is thrown, the resilience of the stem 19 causes the jingle bell 17 to oscillate and produce a ringing sound. This ringing sound continues throughout the trajectory of the ball. The length and stiffness of the stem 19 is such that in combination with the mass of the bell 17, the natural period of oscillation will be less than `a second, and enough energy is stored in the stem and bell system to maintain the oscillations throughout the normal trajectory of the ball, which may be as much as 30 feet.

Similarly, when the ball bounces, the sudden change of direction of movement will add energy to the stem and bell system and prolong its oscillation.

The mass of the cage 14 contributes to the mass of the ball as a whole and thus improves its throwing characteristics. In the case of the beach ball type which is very light, the additional mass is desirable.

The diaphragm 12 being flexible, the bell mounting means does not detract from the bounce. The diaphragm may be made of suitable flexible material such as cloth, or kraft paper, or it may be of elastic material such as thin sheet rubber. Since the mass of the cage 14 is concentric with the shell 10, the center of gravity of the ball will remain true, thus avoiding eccentricities in the trajectory or in the bounce.

The modification of FIG. 3 shows a clapper bell 20, which is universally mounted, or substantially so, on the crossed tapes 18 by a ring 21. Here there is no resilience to the bell system; rather it functions as a pendulum in which the stored energy is in the form of the swinging of the bell from side to side.

The view of FIG. 3 is taken in a changed position showing how the bell will still hang downwardly even though the plane of the crossed tapes is vertical. String or any flexible connection may be substituted for the ring 21, but the ring is preferred since the string might tend to wrap itself around the tapes 18'. The advantage of the FIG. 3 construction is that a larger and heavier bell may be used, but due to the universal mounting, it will not materially affect the center of gravity of the bell as a whole.

In the FIG. 4 modication, the jingle bell 22 is mounted at the center of and directly on the diaphragm 12 by a resilient stem 23, similar to stem 19. This construction can be used when the additional mass of the cage is not necessary, and also, where the mass of the jingle bell 22 is small. If desired, a second jingle bell 22 may be mounted on the opposite side of the diaphragm 12 to provide a more balanced construction.

However, cage arrangement of FIGS. 1 and 3 is pref ferred, both because of the additional mass and also because the bell mounting is protected when the shell 10 is deflated. Furthermore, it permits the use of a heavier bell and it provides a means whereby a bell may be pendulously suspended at the exact center 24 of the ball 9 for substantially free swinging movement irrespective of the orientation of the tapes 18. The tapes 18' provide a non-damping mounting for the clapper bell 20.

However, Where a resilient stem is used it is possible to mount the stem or stems 25 directly on the interior surface of the cage 14 as shown in FIG. 5, and eliminate the tapes, because the resilient stem 25 in itself constitutes -a non-damping or non-rigid support for the bell.

Although only preferred embodiments of my invention are shown and described herein, it will be understood that modifications and changes can be made in the constructions shown without departing from the spirit of my invention as pointed out in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A sound producing ball comprising a spherical shell, a flexible diaphragm dividing the interior of the shell into two parts, a bell disposed within said shell, and a resilient stem connecting said bell to said diaphragm, one end of said stem being anchored to said diaphragm, the resilience of said stem coupled with the mass of said bell resulting in an oscillating amplitude suicient to sustain ringing of the bell while the ball is in the air.

2. A sound producing ball as claimed in claim 1 in which said resilient stem is of rubber.

3. A sound producing ball comprising a spherical shell, a flexible diaphragm dividing the interior of the shell into two parts, a cage mounted on said diaphragm concentrically with said shell, a bell disposed within said cage, and oscillatable support means connecting said bell with said cage.

4. A sound producing ball as claimed in claim 3 in which said oscillatable support means comprises a resilient stem secured at one end to said hollow spherical member, said bell being mounted at the other end of said stem.

5. A sound producing ball as claimed in claim 3 in which said oscillatable support means comprises a tape extending across said cage, and `a resilient stem secured to said tape, said bell being mounted on said stem.

6. A sound producing ball as claimed in claim 3 in which said oscillatable support means comprises a pair of diametrically extending crossed tapes, said bell being suspended from said crossed tapes at their point of intersection for free swinging movement.

7. A sound producing ball comprising la spherical shell having bouncing characteristics, a flexible diaphragm disposed within said shell and secured at its periphery to the inner surface of said shell, said diaphragm having a central opening, a hollow spherical member mounted in said opening and supported by said diaphragm and located concentrically with respect to said shell, a bell disposed within said hollow spherical member and means providing a non-rigid support for said bell within said hollow spherical member.

8. A sound producing ball as claimed in claim 7 in which said non-rigid support means comprises a tape extending diametrically of said hollow spherical member, and a resilient stem secured to said tape.

9. A sound producing ball as claimed in claim 7 in which said non-rigid support means comprises a pair of diametrically extending crossed tapes, and in which said bell is a clapper bell, pendulously connected to said crossed tapes at their point of intersection.

10. A sound producing ball as claimed in claim 7 in which said non-rigid support means comprises a resilient stem mounted directly on the inner wall of said hollow spherical member.

11. A sound producing ball comprising a spherical shell having bouncing characteristics, a flexible diaphragm disposed within said shell and sealed, at its periphery to the inner surface of said shell, said diaphragm having a central opening but being otherwise imperforate, a hollow spherical member mounted in said opening and supported by said diaphragm and located concentrically with respect to said shell, a sound transmitting opening provided in one half of said hollow spherical member and communicating with lthe interior of said shell on one side only of said diaphragm, the other half of said hollow spherical member being imperforate, means sealing said hollow spherical member to said diaphragm whereby the two halves of the interior of said shell are sealed from each other, and a bell mounted within said hollow spherical member for oscillating movement.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,247,873 7/l94l Cohn 46-193 2,618,899 1l/l952 Nudelman 46-193 2,942,379 6/1960 Oman etal 273-581 EUGENE R. CAPOZIO, Primary Examiner.

W. W. NIELSEN, Assistant Examiner. 

